USC vs. UConn Women: Picks, Predictions and Odds

Partner Authors Updated: Dec 21 2024 19:01

Southern California is experiencing a renaissance when it comes to the women’s basketball team.

USC won its most games in 40 years last season, and reached its first Elite Eight in 30 years. Third-year coach Linday Gottlieb has quickly built a winner in Los Angeles, headlined by First-Team All American JuJu Watkins, who burst onto the scene as a freshman, averaging 27 points per game.

Watkins and the seventh-ranked Trojans head East to match up with No. 4 Connecticut, the side that knocked USC out of the tournament last year. The Huskies have their own All American, Paige Bueckers, and are looking to reach the Final Four for the 16th time in the past 17 tournaments.

Both teams sit at 10-1 with their only loss coming to Notre Dame. USC has won six straight since a 74-61 setback to the Fighting Irish last month.

UConn suffered a 79-68 defeat to Notre Dame just over a week ago. Since then, the Huskies have won its last two games over Georgetown and Iowa State by a combined 68 points.

See below for our experts’ predictions for this Top-10 matchup in Hartford.

USC vs. UConn Women betting picks and predictions

UConn -7.5 (-110)

This should be one of the marquee games on the 2024/25 NCAA Women’s Basketball schedule. Watkins is a superstar. She leads the Trojans and is third in the nation with 24.7 points a game, to go with 5.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.5 steals, and has led the team in scoring every game except one.

KiKi Iriafen is adding 18.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest. The two Los Angeles natives have combined to bring the national spotlight to the USC program. The Trojans last made the Final Four in 1993/94 under Cheryl Miller, who had led the school to its only two national championships a decade earlier.

Rayah Marshall is nearly posting a double-double, averaging eight points and 8.9 rebounds. The team last played on Sunday, pounding Elon, 88-30. Watkins led the team with 26 points, followed by Iriafen with 18 points, Kayleigh Heckel with 14 points, and Marshall with 14 rebounds.

The Huskies overwhelmed Iowa State, 101-68, earlier in the week. Freshman Sarah Strong continues her ascendant play, posting 29 points and nine rebounds. Bueckers had 27 points, as did Ashlynn Shade, whose career-high output nearly quadrupled her seven-point season average. Kaitlyn Chen contributed eight assists. The Huskies made a school-record 20 3-pointers in the win.

Bueckers leads the team at 20.6 points per game, to go along with 4.6 rebounds and four assists. Strong leads the team with 8.3 rebounds, 2.2 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game, to go with 17.3 points.

UConn has defeated the Trojans in all three career matchups. That includes an 80-73 victory in last year’s Elite Eight. Watkins, Iriafen, and company will surely be motivated in this rematch, but Bueckers and the Huskies are nearly unbeatable in the state of Connecticut.

Look for UConn to win and cover the spread as -7.5 favorites.

Over 138.5 Total Points (-110)

Both teams score in bunches and contain opposing offenses. UConn is scoring 81 points a game and allowing 53.4 points per contest for an impressive +27.6 differential.

The Trojans have even better marks, scoring 86.3 points per game and allowing just 50.5, sixth best in the nation, for a differential of +35.8. That is the third best in the country.

Although both defenses are established, our experts are looking for an up-tempo matchup between two teams that like to race up and down the court. Look for USC and UConn to go over the total points tonight.

USC vs. UConn Women odds

USC	+280 ML
UConn	-360 ML
Spread	UConn -7.5
Total Points	O/U 138.5

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.